Kodak was once the most recognized brand in the world, today it is not even on Forbes top 100 list! Eastman Kodak invented digital photography but failed to make that technology the central focus of their branding. They continued to market film cameras and the film to go in them. Kodak is still an important brand in the commercial printing industry, but is a generation removed from their brand meaning anything significant to the general public.
A look at the automotive industry demonstrates the importance of developing a brand identity that captures the target market. General Motors (GM) supports 4 brands today. Historically they have shut down or sold off a dozen brands that lost their identity with the consumer and failed to sustain a unique position against competitors.
What is the response when someone sees your logo, business name, your photo? Do they instantly think of you as an important business associate that helps build business or “that nice person that sells those cheap plastic novelties”? Whatever the impression, it is 100% what you have established. If your “brand” has no effect - building or refining a brand that does, will keep you from going the way of Pontiac and Oldsmobile!
Can you be an expert? Have you previous experience in occupations that allow you a perspective many others will not have? Examples I am personally aware of include a former high school athletic coach that now specializes in school spirit apparel and fundraising; a retired real estate agent helping other agents utilize promotional products media; an automotive service manager now building promo programs to increase service department revenue; a event planner now operating as a consultant to several hotels and event centers.These people are using their inside knowledge to put together promotional programs that resonate with the specific people the client wants to reach.
Connecting your brand emblem (logo) with expert focus takes a bit of cleverness to become memorable. The athletic coach mentioned above has a logo that is a coaches whistle with his distributor’s initials on it.
Once you decide what your unique selling proposition (USP) is - that which makes you different from other specialty distributors, getting public recognition of that USP and connecting to your logo, becomes your ongoing self promotion program. Every promotional product you use to promote your business serves as a sample too. This realistically should be your primary marketing message delivery route. When considering that using promotional products to promote your business is a wholesale transaction, you get more impact with less investment.
Another great way to display your logo, marketing message and “brand” is sponsorships. Providing shirts for municipal volunteer events (river cleanup, etc.) can even get your logo on the local news! My printing company sponsored a tournament winning ladies softball team for a decade. The business generated from that sponsorship was exceptional by any measure.
If your business association has regular breakfast meetings, find a way to get involved. Everything from logoed napkins to ice scrapers in winter months can go a long way to developing your brand identity.
Getting your brand to instantly remind people what your business is all about takes time and continuous reinforcement. Top brands invest millions of dollars to accomplish this on an international basis. When the Nikie logo is seen anywhere in the world, instantly sports apparel, shoes, professional and amature sports teams, and even specific people who have been the public face of the company - cascade through your mind.
While your self promotion brand building budget might be a bit more conservative, the process is still the same. Display your brand and a memorable statement (Just Do It has already been used!). My printing company mentioned above had a funeral hearse for a delivery vehicle. Our company slogan was “We will not rest until your job is done” which was prominently displayed on the hearse. Certainly we took making a memorable statement to an extreme - but memorable it was!